ABERGAVENNY cyclist Ffion James has been selected to represent Great Britain at UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Belgium later this month.

James, younger sister of track world champions Becky and Rachel, will compete in the under-23 category at the championships from January 30-31.

British Cycling has announced a team of 18 riders, including recently crowned elite national champions Nikki Harris and Liam Killeen along with experienced cyclo-cross riders Helen Wyman and Ian Field.

They are joined by under-23 women’s national champions Evie Richards and junior men’s national champion Mark Donovan.

Iain Dyer, head coach for the Great Britain Cycling Team said: “I’m looking forward to seeing how the team we’ve selected for the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships performs this year, particularly on the women’s side with Nikki Harris recording her first ever world cup victory in Namur and also with her and Helen consistently scoring top- ten results on the world cup scene.

“Over on the men’s side, it’ll be great to see Liam Killeen riding in Great Britain colours again following his retirement from the mountain bike squad in 2013.

“It’s also good to see a number of Olympic academy riders have made selection, as well as being there on merit for their cyclo-cross skills and as potential podium contenders, all experience at world level will serve to aid their development as world-class bike riders.”

Cyclo-cross races typically take place in the autumn and winter and consist of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles and requiring the rider to quickly dismount and carry the bike while navigating the obstruction and remount.

James, a member of Abergavenny Racing Club, won the Colin Thornton Memorial Award for best Welsh Junior Performance at the 2015 USN Welsh Cycling Awards.

She enjoyed a successful 12 months in mountain bike cross country and cyclo-cross – winning national titles and finishing 13th in the UCI World Mountain Bike XC Championships with Great Britain.

Becky James will compete on the final round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong this weekend.

Sprinter James is joined by Welsh endurance trio Elinor Barker, Ciara Horne and Emily Nelson in a strong squad selected for the final major event before the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London in March.